The Master of Arts in Professional Writing program (MAPW) is a professional graduate degree program that prepares candidates for a wide variety of writing-related positions in business, education, publishing, and the arts. Coursework in three concentrations applied writing, composition and rhetoric, and creative writing allows students to gain theoretical and practical knowledge in various fields of professional writing. As students become experienced in producing and analyzing business, technical, journalistic, and creative texts, they develop a sophisticated understanding of style, structure, and audience. MAPW students will become writing professionals who can move in many directions during their careers. They will become flexible writers who can tune in to the writing conventions of a given genre, adapting their writing style to the requirements of various rhetorical contexts.
What is the MAPW Capstone Project?
A project designated as a thesis, portfolio or practicum and accompanied by a rationale for its purpose and design that involves electronic and/or print media and is relevant to the student’s concentration in professional writing. After submitting an approved capstone proposal, the candidate works under the direction and advice of two faculty members to produce the project. The candidate must submit the capstone project at least two weeks before either 1) a discussion about the project with the faculty committee, or 2) a public presentation about the project or a reading from the project for an audience of faculty and peers.
Theses/Dissertations from 2008
A Massachusetts Earthquake, Nancy N. Wilson
Broadening Horizons through Collegiate Study Abroad: A Narrative Experience, Katrina Wood
Dating Cancer...It's a Whole New Set of Rules, Jennifer Kreitzer Yarber
Writing to Raise Money: A Practicum in the Non-Profit World, Caryn Young
Theses/Dissertations from 2007
Drug of Preference, Saul Adler
A Place to Belong, Gloria J. Bennett
KB Photography Marketing & Business Plan, Katherine Birkbeck
Brunch with the Virgin Mary, John R. Brooks, III
Parenting Adosescents, Deborah Burke
Out of Good, Joshua M. Carstens
Informing, Instructing, and Connecting Internal Organizational Constituencies through Print and Online Communications: A Professional Portfolio, Celeste T. Dickson
Ponyboy, Elisha Eppihimer
Intercultural Explorations: Writing Effectively Across Cultures, Samra E. Fleschner
Collections Management Policies and Procedures for the Center for the Study of the Civil War Era, Sonya Fowler
Value of the Ordinary, Mary Frances
Writing Korean in English: An Intercultural Writing Portfolio, Kenzie R. Freeman
Establishing Presence: An Applied Writing Practicum for The LOT Foundation, Inc., Shayla Arline Gordon
Developing a Web Site for a Dental Practice, Gordana Goudie
Twist, Angie Jennings
A Moment in Time: Thirty Years in the Making, 1973-2003, Cynthia T. Jordin
Domestic, Morgan A. McLaughlin McFarland
Flight of the Dragonfly, Kevin McKenzie
Good Grief and Other Tales for Television, Charity L. Miller
One in a Million: Living Courageously with a Traumatic Brain Injury, Cheryl K. Miller
Into the Roots, Cathy Ray
The Secret Mantra: Poems, Flash Fiction & Short Stories, Cathleen Salsburg
Write Way Workbook, Stephanie A. Salter
The Web Content Strategist's Bible: The Complete Guide to a New and Lucractive Career Path for Writers of All Kinds, Richard G. Sheffield
A Cultural Exchange: A Study Abroad Survival Guide, Kia Smith
Look at Me: Refugee and Immigrant Women Speak on Coming to Georgia from 1995-2006, Rosita Smith
Turning Concepts into Bylines: An Examination and Analysis of a Professional Writer's Portfolio, Jason Taylor
Achieving Connectedness through Writing Style: A Multi-Genre Portfolio, Carolyn Elizabeth Thomas
Teaching English and Writing to Speakers of Other Languages, Alla Umanskiy
Theses/Dissertations from 2006
Remediation, Genre, and Blogs: A Reexamination of Blogs as Genre, Mark David Anthony
Pop Rhetoric: A Thesis in Four Movements, Richard Todd Campbell
Second Thoughts, Noelle Crisafulli Gregg
The Used Gifts Project: A Writer's Journey to Share Tales along the Road of Organ Donation and Transplantation, Jan Heidrich-Rice
Writing Portfolio, Mark Holmberg
Letters from a Southern Sunset: Travels in Argentina, Jonae M. Jackson
Whose Internet?: Understanding Audience in Intercultural Web Design, Ida Loudermilk
Making Connections: Composition/Rhetoric and Literature Intertwine in the Classroom, Pamela S. Nehlig
30 Women Turning 30, Colette Petersen
The Colors in Between: Culturally Layered Individuals in 21st Century America, Rashida Powell
Bite Me, Elizabeth Raby
From Spanish to English: A Cultural, Linguistic, and Literary Odyssey, Natalia Schust
Georgia Musings: A Collection of Writings, D. Lea Stone
Jimmy Bullee and Other Stories, Sussan K. Sutphen
Small Moments, Big Milestones: Becoming an Effective Writer through Teaching, Victoria Walker
The Write Decision, Connie Hulsey Watjen
A Journal Publishing Practicum for the KSU Press, Emily Wehby
Burn Your Roses, Rhyea White
Writing a Picture of the Past: Expressing Life on Life's Terms, Bobbie J. Whorton
Talking to Myself: A Writer's Journey toward Writing for an Audience of More Than One, Crystal T. Wright
Theses/Dissertations from 2005
The Courage to Market, Heather Alice Blasingame Ayer
The Darker Side of White: Stories Inspired by The Beatles's White Album, Chrysta Lea Baker
Stella Barkley, Kendall Baumann
The Chronicles of a Speechwriter, Melva Bell
The Business of Writing History: Case Studies in Organizational History, Leslie A. Cook
Mount Hope, Christopher Dowd
Valeria and Her Lovers, Marc Fitten
The Ghosts Are Mine, Patricia Fulton
Zip Codes: Stories and Essays, Patti Ghezzi
In the Knob, Jennifer L. Gibbs
Coo: An Original Full-Length Screenplay, Phillip Maury Harrold
Claiming a Professional Writing Space: The Writing Journal of Nellie Arnott, Margie G. Chastain Hendrix
The Queen's Court, Margaret F. Highsmith
College Dreams: A Short Story Cycle, Shannon Lenora Jones
Going beyond Discipline Plans and High Expectations: Improving the Preparation of Teach for America Corps Members, Debra Kennedy
The Tinsel Tower, Barbara Kornblit
Cool Million, Walter Lawrence
The Long and Short of It: The Business of Freelance Feature Writing, Jennifer Maciejewski
Creatively Applied Writing, Jessica C. Nasca
Just My Imagination, Paula M. Ogletree
Consider the Lilies, Dawn Lanier Ortiz
Discovering 21st Century Composition Studies, Jeannie C. Parker
The Babylonian Talmud: A Unique Text of Argument and Narrative, Pamela H. Reynolds
Monitions: A One Act Play, Deanna Ryan
The Varieties of Writing Experience, David Schmidt
Writing to Tell the Story: A Portfolio of Fiction and News Features, Christine Renee Smith
Road Rovers: A Screenplay, Kathleen Duerr Snow
Frontline Medic, Sandra Wright Taylor
Love and Letting Go, Owerri M. Washington
Drowned Things: Poems by Michael Weeks, Michael L. Weeks
Beauty, Jodi R. Williams
Societal Norms: A Writing Portfolio, Odiesha Williams
Theses/Dissertations from 2004
Paper Hearts Can Beat Forever, Susan Behar
On Audience and Cadence: Growing as a Writer from Youth to the MAPW Program, Rachel Faith Brooker
Coloring Outside the Lines: The Brownies' Book, Literacy, and "Jim Crow", Regina Ann Clark
Remants, Jennifer Goad Cuthbertson
Visits to a Time Called Mississippi and Other Travels, Ronald E. Dulaney
Writing About Theatre, Jennifer Hartshorn
Development of a Dynasty: The History of Kennesaw State Baseball, Chris Lerstang
Through the Red Sea As By Dry Land, Nancy Stephan McDaniel
Magdelina Menninger: For Better, Theresa Milford
Expanding the Boundaries: The Value of Composition and Rhetoric Studies in Professional Writing, Caroline DeArmas Mooney
Diary of a Writing Project: A Documentary, Lisa Satterfield
How Hard Is It To Find a Good Man? And Other Stories - An eBook (in Development), Lesia Miller Schnur
The Assorted Losers, Jeremy Sparks
Voice: A Writer's Essence, Nancy E. Spraker